Matthew Barzun, the US ambassador to UK, visited the centre for Computational Neuroscience and Cognitive Robotics on 6 February 2014.

During his visit, Uta Noppeney, CNCR co-director, described the centre’s philosophy, research directions, international collaborations and the associated CNCR MSc program. Alan Wing presented innovative EU-funded research into rehabilitation of apraxia, and as a highlight of the visit the US ambassador experienced robot-assisted movement therapy. In this MRC-funded project, led by Orna Rosenthal, Chris Miall, Alan Wing, and Jeremy Wyatt, the group are exploring the advantages of providing individualized movement practise as rehabilitation for hemiplegic patients. Finally, Michael Mistry demonstrated latest developments in humanoid robots performing goal-directed, whole-body compliant interactions – developing robots able to interact and assist with humans in real world environments.

The US ambassador thanked the group for sharing their progress in this exciting new research.

CNCR US ambassador visit